


a flicker in the shadows

by DayDreamingIsMyHobby, itsbabiehours



Category: South Park
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Fluff and Angst, Kidnapping, M/M, Superheroes, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-19
Updated: 2021-03-25
Packaged: 2021-03-26 09:55:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30104163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DayDreamingIsMyHobby/pseuds/DayDreamingIsMyHobby, https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsbabiehours/pseuds/itsbabiehours
Summary: Kyle has been infatuated with a famed, mysterious superhero for years, but when the two of them start interacting on a regular basis, Kyle realizes that he might have already been far more up close and personal with him than he could have previously imagined. Meanwhile, Stan can't help but worry for his best friend's safety.
Relationships: Kyle Broflovski/Kenny McCormick
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this originally started out as a rp, but it's been repurposed into a fic! itsbabiehours is writing the chapters from kyle's perspective, and daydreamingismyhobby is writing the chapters from stan + kenny's perspectives.  
> enjoy the fic!!

Kyle took a seat at the lunch table, carefully removing the meticulously folded newspaper from the back pocket of his jeans. He laid it out over the table, beginning to rub at the creased paper with the heel of his palm, attempting to flatten it out. The headline was in bold, a cheesy, superhero-esque slogan, but the headline wasn’t what Kyle was interested in; Kyle was interested in the picture, a black and white depiction of a famed superhero. 

Mysterion. It had been over three years since the superhero had first made his grand debut, stopping a kidnapping with nothing other than his fists, and since then, the entire town had been obsessed with him.

Well, not really. The thrill of Mysterion had slowly begun to die down since his first appearance in the summer before high school, to the point where most people didn’t even look twice when the hooded figure appeared on the front page of the South Park Gazette, but for Kyle, the thrill hadn’t yet died down. In fact, he doubted that the thrill would ever die down, and he had no idea how the rest of the town could go about their daily lives as if a superhero wasn’t hiding in their midsts.

“Will you move your faggy little newspaper?” Kyle was snapped out of his thoughts by Cartman’s impatient voice, his flimsy cardboard tray loaded with very slippery looking spaghetti. “It’s taking up the entire goddamn table!”

“Knock it off, Cartman. He’s not doing anything wrong.” Stan took a seat next to Kyle, gently nudging the newspaper out of the way so he could set his own tray down. Kyle hurried to pull the newspaper away, not wanting the precious paper to get stained with grease. Stan leaned over Kyle’s shoulder to peer at the newspaper, an amused expression knitting itself onto his face. “Mysterion again?”

“Well, yeah!” Kyle let out an indignant huff once he caught sight of the expression on Stan’s face, placing his water bottle on one side of the newspaper to keep it unrolled. “Didn’t you see what happened last night?” He gestured wildly towards the newspaper. “It’s fucking insane, dude. He comes out of nowhere!” He shook his head. “One day I’m going to find out who he is. Mark my words.” He only paused when he heard Kenny’s sleep-deprived yawn and the sound of a bagged lunch thumping against the table, lifting his hand in a small wave before opening his mouth again to speak.

Stan gave a nonchalant shrug, not nearly as thoroughly bothered as Kyle by Mysterion’s hidden identity. “I don’t really keep up with the news.” He jabbed his fork into his food. “Do you really think you’ll be able to figure out who he is? How many years has he been around? In all that time, nobody’s been able to identify him. You’d think someone would have found out by now if it was possible.”

“God, that’s fucking gay.” Cartman snorted. “Who even gives a fuck who Mysterion is anymore? He’s old news. There are way more impressive superheroes around town, and they don’t wear their underwear outside their costume.”

“Yeah. Totally old news.” Kenny piped up, his sandwich having migrated from the inside of his bag to the outside. “I didn’t even remember he was a thing.” 

“How are you guys so calm about this?” Kyle pushed his tray to the side, continuing to attempt to flatten out the creases in the newspaper. “There’s an actual, literal vigilante around here! A vigilante responsible for saving hundreds of lives!” He pounded his fist against the cafeteria table. “I’m going to figure it out. Who even has time to be a vigilante while staying in school? It’s unbelievable. I need to know.”

“Well, I guess I am kind of curious.” Kenny glanced up from his half-eaten sandwich, his eyes flicking down to the newspaper before returning to Kyle’s face. “Any theories on who he is?”

“That’s the thing!” Kyle’s voice flared up with passion, and he finally lifted the partially-crumpled newspaper up from the table, practically thrusting it into Kenny’s face. Kenny blinked a few times. “It could be anyone! Well, nearly anyone. There are a few people we can cut out.” His eyes surveyed the cafeteria. “It can’t be fat boy, because Mysterion is thin, and it can’t be Token or Craig, because Mysterion’s skin is lighter than theirs. And it’s almost definitely a guy based on the voice. So there aren’t too many options, but I still don’t have much to go off of. But every time he gets put in the newspaper, I get a little closer to solving it. Maybe I’ll go alibi hunting today to see who was busy last night.” He pointedly ignored Cartman’s crow of ‘fucking gay’.

“Why are you so fascinated with him anyway?” Kenny asked, straightening up slightly in his seat as he popped another piece of sandwich into his mouth. “I’m with Cartman. He’s kind of old news at this point.”

“He’s not ‘kind of’ old news. He is old news.” Cartman scoffed. “Let’s be real; who gives a shit if a few kids get snatched up every once in a while?”

“He’s not old news!” Kyle snapped. “If Mysterion hadn’t been there last night, who knows what could have happened to that kid? I give a shit! And Mysterion does too!” He traced a question mark against his tray with the point of his fork. “I just think he’s interesting. And I think it’d be a nice project to try and figure out who he is. Eventually he’ll slip up and give me another lead. I just know it.”

“Well, good luck, dude. But don’t get your hopes up.” Kenny crumpled his paper bag once he had finished the meager food inside, standing up from the table to chuck it into the trash can.

“I’m going to figure it out. Trust me. And then you’ll all feel like total dumbasses for doubting me.” Kyle carefully folded up the newspaper and slipped it back into his pocket, patting it. 

“If anyone can figure it out, it’s you, dude.” Stan reached to clap Kyle on the shoulder, giving him a quick squeeze before scooping the tray up off the table. “I’m gonna go see how Wendy’s doing. I’ll be right back.”

“Just let it go, dude.” Kenny shook his head. “You’d probably be disappointed by who it is, anyway. Just enjoy the mystery.”

“I wouldn’t be disappointed!” Kyle insisted adamantly, poking one of the hard sticks of garlic bread with the end of his fork. “Dude, he’s Mysterion. I could never be disappointed.” He paused for a second. “On second thought, I could probably get rid of Clyde, too. He’s too heavy to be Mysterion. I’m going to rewatch the clip on the news and see if I can measure out his height compared to the lamppost in the video. Pretty genius, huh?” He grinned at Kenny. 

Kenny rolled one of his shoulders in a shrug, blinking a few times. He looked to be mildly fatigued, but then again, that wasn’t uncommon for Kenny; Kyle could only assume that being the near-sole caretaker of his sister took its toll. “I just think it’s a waste of time. But what do I know?”

“Well, I have the extra time to waste.” Kyle finally stood up, his food only half eaten, stretching as he forced himself to his feet. “Do you think Tweek could suppress his jitters if he was hypothetically Mysterion? I doubt he could, so I might be able to cross it off.”

“Don’t rule out the coffee bean yet.” Kenny warned. “Maybe his nervous energy is just an act.”

Kyle hesitated. “That’s true.” He conceded. “But Tweek has been like that since we were kids, so he would have to have another motive if he was faking it. Besides, don’t you think it would get tiring to act like a complete spaz all the time? Maybe I’ll ask him.”

“You act like a complete spaz all the time.” Cartman pointed out, snatching a meatball off of Kyle’s tray as he hauled his backpack over his back.

“If you ask him, he might just lie.” Kenny pointed out, and Kyle admired how easily he was able to completely ignore Cartman’s comment. “What good would it do to find out who he is anyways?”

“Well, I want to meet him!” Kyle said, as if this was obvious. “As his actual self, not his superhero persona. And I want to tell him just how big of a fan I am.”

Kenny’s expression shifted into one of amusement for a brief moment. “Well, if there’s anything I can do to help, I guess let me know.” He tugged his tattered backpack up off the dirty cafeteria floor, tossing it over his shoulder. “I think this is pointless, but you might as well accept some help if you’re really going to keep trying. I gotta get to class, but I’ll see you later.”

“Talk to you later, dude.” Kyle lifted his hand in a wave, his hand only dropping when he felt hands land on his sides. “Stan!” He snapped, nearly jumping a foot in the air. “Jesus Christ, you scared me.”

Stan stepped out from behind him, his backpack hanging off of one of his shoulders. “Maybe you should be more alert. If you’re going to catch Mysterion, you’ll need to keep an eye out.” He nudged him playfully.

“You’re not helping!” Kyle grumbled, but he couldn’t stay upset at Stan for too long, his grumpy expression quickly melting into one of fondness. He paused for a moment before speaking, glancing over at Stan. “You don’t think it’s weird, do you? My whole… thing with Mysterion?”

“Nah. I think it’s kind of sweet.” Stan gestured for Kyle to follow him down the hallway, nudging him gently. “But now all this talk of you trying to figure out who he is… that’s a little weird, I guess. You don’t think he’s going to suddenly want to date you or something, do you?”

“Oh, come on. It’s not a ‘little weird’. Isn’t it natural to wonder who he is? Don’t you want to know which one of our classmates has been responsible for the safety of our town since we were literal children?” Kyle pried, his face reddening very slightly. “No! Of course not. But I still want to know. It’s a healthy curiosity.”

“Honestly? Not really. I mean, it would be cool to find out who he is, but I’m not going to put actual effort in. But then again, I don’t have a crush on him.” Stan teased. “I just don’t want you to get your heart broken if he’s not interested. He’s been a superhero for a really long time, you know. He might not have time to date. And I’d really prefer for you not to date a superhero anyway. I’d be way too worried about you all the time.”

“Seriously? You’re not curious at all?” Kyle pressed. “You’re fine with living in ignorance about a literal superhero’s identity? Really?” he shook his head, not at all understanding how Stan could be satisfied with just that. He let out a huff, elbowing Stan sharply in the side. “My crush and my desire to find out his identity are two completely different things, just so you know.” He sighed fondly. “You don’t need to worry about me, dude. Besides, if I did end up dating him, Mysterion would keep me safe.”

“I’m a little curious.” Stan conceded. “So if you find out who he is, you better tell me first.” Stan raised an eyebrow, shooting Kyle a look. “Yeah, right. If you didn’t have a crush on him, you wouldn’t give a shit who he was.” He rested a hand on his shoulder, guiding him down the hallway, as if they hadn’t gone this way a thousand times before. “And how do you know Mysterion can keep you safe? He has to keep the whole town safe. He might not have time for you.”

Secretly, Kyle knew that Mysterion would have time for him. Mysterion had been having time for him since he had first showed up at his window on that fateful night, pressing Kyle for information from his windowsill. Surely dating him couldn’t be any more dangerous than that. “Okay, first off, if you keep calling it ‘weird’, you’re not finding out shit.” He warned. “And I don’t know. I just have a good feeling about it. Besides, if he doesn’t keep me safe, you can always do it for him.” He grinned at Stan, lightly punching his arm.

“Oh, come on. You know you can’t keep secrets from me.” Stan didn’t seem convinced, but he did laugh when Kyle punched him, which Kyle counted as a good thing. He rolled his eyes playfully as the two of them stopped in front of Kyle’s classroom door. “Okay. Fine. I’ll do my best.” He grinned at him. “I’ll see you after school?”

“Yeah, of course.” Kyle gently squeezed Stan’s bicep. “See you then, dude.”


	2. Chapter 2

The sun had just completely set in the small mountain town and covered the surrounding area in darkness. There was always an almost eerie silence that filled the air when nighttime came but it never lasted long. The darkness opened the door for the towns many criminals and delinquents to come out and with their presence came the kind of chaos that would make most want to stay safely inside.

But not everyone followed that protocol.

When the last of the natural light left the sky and bad news came out to play, that was the towns single superhero’s cue to venture out under the cover of darkness.

Mysterion slipped through the streets of his home town, always careful about staying in the shadows. It had been three years since he started this routine and he had become so use to it he barely had to actively think about staying out of sight. It was natural now, like a dance, one he enjoyed and had become very good at.

This particular night Mysterion had a specific destination in mind and he had to make a quick stop before he took on any criminals.

He had been utilizing Kyle Broflovski’s particular set of skills since the early days of him being a superhero. Mysterion had been lucky enough to be born with special powers but he didn’t exactly have any computer skills or the technological knowledge to go with it. But that was fine because that’s where Kyle came in.

Mysterion once said he thought Kyle was the smartest boy in school, and he truly meant it. He didn’t just think Kyle was the smartest boy in school, he knew he was. Although now he was starting to become concerned about his friend’s level of intelligence. Especially now that the teen seemed overly interested in discovering his true identity. If anyone could figure it out it was Kyle and Mysterion couldn’t allow that. No one could know who he was underneath his mask.

No one.

When he arrived at Kyle’s house, he crawled up the side of the home and up to his second floor window with ease. Per usual, he found the window to be unlocked and he was able to open it and soundlessly land on the windowsill.

He landed and stayed in the crouched position as he normally did, just in case he needed to make a quick exit. Mysterion deepened his normally mid range voice to make it unrecognizable as he spoke out to the teenager sitting at his desk, noticing how his full focus was on the computer screen in front of him;

“Kyle, I need information.”

Kyle jumped at the sudden voice and nearly fell out of his chair with surprise. Mysterion felt a little bad about frightening him but he no longer felt guilty when he saw the blush accumulate on Kyle’s cheeks as his friend turned in his chair to face him.

Mysterion’s visits were frequent enough, often happening at least once a week, but Kyle still always seemed to be shocked by his presence every time he showed up. Mysterion never thought much about it, knowing Kyle to be easily startled. The blush was curious but it was easy enough to chalk that up to being embarrassed about his reaction to being caught off guard.

“Of course.” Kyle stammered slightly. “What do you need to know? I can find it for you.”

Mysterion smirked at the way Kyle so quickly agreed. He wouldn’t admit it to even himself, but he liked the way Kyle always got a little flustered by his presence.

“There are rumors of a big drug den in town. I need you to tell me its location so I can shut it down.”

“Uh. Of course.” Kyle turned back to his computer. “Do you know the general area? I can find it without, but it might take a few more minutes.”

“I heard it might be around City Wok but it was just a rumor.” Mysterion watched as Kyle got to work, noticing how he occasionally tried to sneak a few glances back at him while he searched. “I trust you. You always find me what I need.”

It was a compliment, validation of Kyle’s quick and hard work but it was also the truth. Kyle was the only person in this town he trusted enough and could rely on to get him the important and sensitive information he often sought after. He was pleased to see that Kyle appeared to appreciate the compliment, solely basing it off of the deep blush that colored his cheeks once again.

“Okay.” Kyle murmured. “Just give me a few minutes.”

“Take your time.” Mysterion responded. He decided this was a good opportunity to glance around Kyle’s room for any sign he might have continued his quest to discover his true identity. As his eyes subtly scanned the room, he realized with disappointment that Kyle hadn’t moved past the idea like Mysterion had hoped.

There was a large cork board located on one of Kyle’s walls with newspaper clippings of Mysterion pinned up. Various notes written in the margins as well as mentions of possible heights and hair colors. Mysterion took in the sight with a careful eye before his focus shifted to the right of the cork board where he could see Kyle had a short list of names pinned up. As Mysterion scanned over the paper he saw that half the names were crossed out and another quarter had question marks next to them. And worst of all… He noticed his true name was still on the list of possible suspects.

This was bad.

Kyle was far closer to finding out his true identity than Mysterion had suspected.

It took all of Mysterion’s self control not to tug at the hood that hid his hair or awkwardly adjust his costume. Suddenly fearing that any little thing could be a slip up and reveal his identity.

Mysterion finally tore his eyes from the mounting evidence on the wall and watched Kyle work silently for an extended moment. He wasn’t sure if it was worth bringing up what was splattered across his room but he finally decided it couldn’t be avoided. This needed to be nipped in the bud immediately.

“You shouldn’t be trying to figure out who I am.”

Kyle finally looked away from his computer to glance over at Mysterion, his face furrowing in confusion and subtle disappointment. “Why not?” Kyle questioned him as he printed out a few sheets of paper. “I really want to know.”

“Because it could put your life in danger and it could potentially put me at risk.” Mysterion stated firmly. “Let it go, Kyle.”

Kyle held the pieces of paper tightly in his hands, the confliction clear on his face, “How would that put you at risk?” He finally asked. “And you know I can’t let it go.”

“If people found out who I am it would make things complicated, likely even dangerous.” Mysterion spoke slowly and precisely, “I’m not going to ask you again. Let it go.”

“I wouldn’t tell anyone obviously! I would find out, discard all of my research, and leave it be.” Kyle tried to argue. “Listen. I wouldn’t want to put you in danger, but I really need to know this. I’m sorry, but I can’t let it go.” Kyle responded soundly. “You yourself said that you trust me, so what would the issue be if I found out? I would just be able to help you in and outside of your superhero persona.”

Mysterion frowned slightly as he observed Kyle. He knew his friend was determined and stubborn, especially when he had his mind set on something. Mysterion had a terrible feeling there was no way he would be able to talk him out of this no matter how hard he tried and no matter what he said. But he still had to try;

“This is a bad idea. No one should know who I am, not even you. If someone found out you knew who I am, they could try to get that information out of you.”

“So? I wouldn’t give them that information.” Kyle shrugged. “I’m going to find out who you are, and nobody can stop me.” He declared, stepping closer to Mysterion and pressing the papers into his hand.

The determination in Kyle’s eyes threw Mysterion off and he almost forgot to disguise his voice when he opened his mouth to respond;

“Why do you need to know so bad?”

“I’m curious!” Kyle said quickly. “And I think I could help you more if I knew who you were.”

“You help me just fine in our current arrangement. Don’t put yourself at risk. Let it go, Kyle.” Mysterion tucked the papers away and started backing out of the windowsill, preparing himself to disappear the moment Kyle turned his back.

Kyle scowled and crossed his arms, his eyes still on Mysterion, “I’m not going to let it go. Good luck on the drug den.” Mysterion watched as he took a seemingly reluctant seat back at his computer chair and finally pulled his focus from the figure in his window.

Mysterion wanted to roll his eyes but managed to hold back, not wanting to break his mysterious persona, or do something his normal teenage self would do and give Kyle another clue into who he might be. He watched the very annoyed looking teenager type aggressively at his computer for just another moment before he slipped from the window and disappeared out into the night.


	3. Chapter 3

In hindsight, Kyle definitely shouldn’t have been out that late at night, but in his defense, it was for a good reason. He had been out sick just a few days prior, the sickness may or may not having been an excuse to spend the day at home marking down notes on his favorite superhero, but in the process, he had missed a test in his government class.

The test was relatively easy, as most were, and Kyle headed down the cracked sidewalk, hoisting his backpack up over his shoulder. He palmed at his pocket to check his phone, feeling the telltale vibrations of his mother spamming him with texts of ‘where are you?’, and was just about to pull it out of his pocket and respond when he felt a sweaty, thin hand smack over his mouth. His eyes widened, one of his fists thumping frantically against the hand, but to no avail. 

Kyle had no idea who the person behind him was, had absolutely no recognition of them, but it was obvious to anyone with eyes that this person wasn’t a friend, and that the hand was too small to be one of Cartman’s stupid pranks. He let out a scream against the person’s hand, his fists slamming against their back, and he was just about to aim a hard kick towards their stomach when something caused the perpetrator to stop right in their tracks, dropping Kyle.

He hit the ground with a thump, quickly attempting to scramble back onto his feet, and he whipped around to see what had happened, catching sight of one cape-clad superhero with a hand around the culprit’s throat. Mysterion had a surprising amount of force behind his movements for someone as lean-looking as he was, though Kyle supposed he should have expected nothing less from a superhero, and his fist was flashing towards the person’s face before Kyle could even blink, his knuckles crashing into the skin with a sickening cracking noise. 

One of Mysterion’s legs came sweeping down towards the person’s knee, their legs buckling as a result, and they went crashing down towards the ground, eliciting a gasp from Kyle. He took a few subconscious steps back, and Mysterion knelt down next to the person’s presumably unconscious form, producing a length of rope from somewhere within his costume. The rope went around their wrists, tightening with a tug and breaking off near a particularly weathered point, and Mysterion worked efficiently to tie their ankles next, the rope disappearing back into his outfit.

Kyle was just about to rush towards Mysterion, thoroughly rattled, but the superhero did it for him, moving closer in long strides. His gloved hand fell towards Kyle’s face, his fingers resting under his chin and tilting up so he could examine him for damage, and Kyle swallowed, his heart thumping wildly in his chest for multiple reasons. “Thank you. Holy shit. Thank you.”

“Are you okay? Can you stand up?” Mysterion’s voice was gravelly, with a small, barely audible hint of concern, and Kyle nodded, finally forcing himself to his feet. 

“Uh. I’m okay. I can stand up.” Kyle leaned down to dust his knees off, his legs still trembling very slightly, and he nodded, taking a few steps forward. He nearly stumbled, thoroughly shaken up, and Mysterion rushed forward, one of his arms falling around his torso. 

“You shouldn’t walk home like this.” Mysterion pressed, eyeing Kyle, as if he couldn’t believe that he was still standing.

“Really. I’ll be fine. It’s not too far away.”

Mysterion’s gaze flicked around their surroundings very briefly before settling back on Kyle, and he swallowed again, those blue eyes feeling like they were burning a hole through his skin. “You afraid of heights?”

“Uh, not really. Depends on how high they are, I guess.” Kyle answered warily, his attention turning upwards, wondering exactly what Mysterion had in mind. 

Mysterion seemed to think for a moment, and he eventually knelt down next to Kyle. “Hop on, hold on tight, and close your eyes if you get scared.”

Kyle’s eyes widened, and he glanced briefly around, as if Mysterion might be talking to someone else, before moving closer to him. His arms fell around his torso, which he guiltily enjoyed, and he hooked one of his legs around his waist, effectively locking himself on. “I’m not going to get scared.” Mysterion stood up, which seemed to take no effort at all, and made his way towards the building, beginning to scale it like he had done the same thing a million times before. Which Kyle supposed that he had.

“What were you doing out here so late?” Mysterion’s low voice broke the silence, and Kyle’s grip tightened around him, forcing himself not to look down.

“I needed to make up a test, and it took longer than expected. And my mom was busy, so she couldn’t drive me home.” His voice came out tighter and higher than he had hoped, and he cursed himself out for it, shutting his eyes tightly to avoid looking down. He wasn’t sure how high up in the air they were, and he didn’t want to find out. His only solace was that from this angle, he could breathe in what Mysterion smelled like, could find out what it felt like to cling to him, even though he felt dirty for thinking those things right afterwards.

Mysterion laughed quietly, which was music to Kyle’s ears. “Scared?”

“No! It’s just kind of high up. I’m not used to this.” Kyle protested, glancing around briefly before shoving his face in the nape of Mysterion’s neck. “How do you manage to do this so often? I would be exhausted.”

“You get used to it. I’ve been doing this for a long time.” Mysterion said, as if Kyle hadn’t been studying him for literal years, and Kyle smiled into the back of his neck, his mood only dampened by the thought of how many other people Mysterion must have carried on his back like this. “Not scared, huh? In that case, want to see my favorite spot in the city?”

Kyle was undeniably scared, but the thought of spending just a little more time with Mysterion was too tempting to pass up, and he nodded, his nose nudging at the back of his neck. “Yeah. Of course.”

Mysterion crossed another building, and Kyle’s fingers dug tightly into his costume, feeling more than a little pathetic. “I hope you can keep a secret. Nobody else knows about this spot.”

“Of course I can keep a secret. I’ve been keeping our arrangement a secret for years, right?” Kyle’s heart lifted at the thought of him being the only one Mysterion had shown his favorite spot to, and he forced himself to not look too excited. “Am I really the only person who knows about this?”

Mysterion landed on another building, and he trekked towards the edge, only kneeling down so Kyle could hop off. “Yeah. I don’t make a habit of showing people this place. But this is where I observe. You can see the whole town from up here.”

“This actually explains a lot.” Kyle stepped hesitantly towards the edge, his gaze falling towards the town of South Park, which was beginning to fully shroud in darkness as the sun shrank over the horizon. It was a strangely beautiful sight, and he let out a long sigh. “How did you find it?”

Mysterion glanced briefly over towards him before turning his attention towards the town. “It’s pretty cool, isn’t it? Best sunset you’ll ever see is right in this spot.” He took a seat, and let his legs dangle haphazardly over the edge of the building, swinging his feet idly. “I just stumbled on it one day. And I’m really glad I did.”

Kyle hesitated for just a second before moving to sit down next to Mysterion, leaving only a foot of space between them. “It’s really cool.” He admitted honestly, resting his elbows on his knees. “I need to see a sunset here one of these days.”

Mysterion finally tore his gaze away from the sunset, glancing over towards Kyle. “I’ll make a deal with you. Stop trying to figure out who I am, and I’ll take you here to see a sunset.”

“Really?” Kyle paused. He knew he could trust Mysterion to hold up his end of the bargain, but did Kyle really want to stop his search for Mysterion? The answer was a resounding no, but Kyle figured that what Mysterion didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. “Deal.”

“Really? That’s all it took?”

“Well, if I can’t figure out who the real you is so I can befriend them, I can settle for just befriending you. As long as you keep your promise.”

“I’ll keep mine if you keep yours.” Mysterion confirmed, his gaze flickering back towards the town. “Go one full week without trying to find out my identity, and it’s a deal.”

“Only a full week? So you’re implying that after a full week, I can keep trying?” Kyle asked, making a mental note to take down some of his newspapers once he got back home. 

“No. You’ll have to stop entirely. But I have my doubts that you’ll even make it a week.” Mysterion nudged Kyle, and Kyle made an indignant huffing noise. “I’ll only take you if you promise you’ll completely forget about trying to figure out who I am.”

“Well, you should have been more specific about that!” Kyle tried to force his grin down, but it was impossible. “Okay, fine. It’s still a deal, because I really want to see this sunset you keep talking about.”

“It’ll be worth it. I promise.” Mysterion finally stood up, and he reached a hand down to help Kyle to his feet. Kyle grasped his gloved hand, hauling himself to his feet.

“It better be.” Kyle took a step away from the edge as soon as Mysterion’s hand was in his, not wanting to risk falling off, and he didn’t let go just yet, enjoying the feeling of his hand grasped in his. “Can you take me back to my house? I don’t want to walk home alone.”

“Of course. I can’t let anything happen to you. How else will I get the information I need?” The half-compliment made Kyle foolishly smile, and he climbed onto Mysterion’s back like he had done earlier, for some reason not feeling nearly as scared as he was previously.

They lapsed into silence while Mysterion took Kyle home, jumping between buildings and landing from heights that definitely should have broken his ankles, and by the time Mysterion had ended up in front of his house, Kyle almost regretted how quick the journey had been. “Think you can take it from here? Doors aren’t really my thing.”

Kyle almost wanted to ask if Mysterion wanted to come inside, but he shoved that thought out of his head, knowing how stupid it would be. “Yeah, I can. Thank you. I’ll curb my curiosity for now.” He smiled at him.

“Just doing my job.” Mysterion returned the smile, and it was an expression that seemed to radiate physical warmth, like Kyle could blanket himself up in it. “See you next week for the sunset. Try not to get yourself in any dangerous situations before then.”

“I’ll do my best, but you might have to come save me again.” Kyle warned, deciding that almost getting kidnapped wasn’t that bad. “See you, Mysterion.”

“See you, Kyle.” Kyle decided that his name sounded good, better than good on Mysterion’s tongue, and he had barely lifted his hand in a wave before he had disappeared into the shadows, leaving only the warm feeling in Kyle’s chest.


	4. Chapter 4

The sweet and savory, enticing smell of that day’s school lunch hit Kenny’s nose the moment he entered the cafeteria. Pulled barbecue pork on fluffy, fresh brioche buns and a loaded baked potato. It was one of his absolute favorites and it made his stomach grumble with hunger. But instead of hopping into line like all his other classmates, Kenny made his way over to his usual lunch table, clutching a brown paper lunch bag in his hands.

Questionable bologna on almost stale bread wasn’t exactly exciting or delicious, far from it really, but Kenny was in far too good of a mood to let his typical sad lunch dampen his spirits.

Last night was different to say the least. He had become very accustomed to stopping crime and doing what he could to keep the town safe. It wasn’t always easy and it wasn’t always fun but Kenny felt like it was his duty and he loved it.

He had thought he had been through it all and seen just about anything in the few years since he officially took on his title. That was until last night. He most definitely wasn’t use to spending more than a few short minutes with the citizens of South Park while in his super hero persona, and that’s what made the decision to allow Kyle to come to his secret spot all the more mind boggling.

It had been a split second decision that he feared he would end up regretting, especially after making the promise that he would take him there again. But even now, more than twelve hours later, Kenny found himself looking back fondly on the time they had spent together. Kenny was use to spending his night hours alone. It was part of his chosen job and something he had become accustomed too. But he had to admit it was a nice change having company and he decided it wouldn’t be so bad to experience it again.

Kenny glanced up when he heard the distinct creaking of the lunch bench that told him someone had sat across from him at their table. His lips curling up into a soft smile when he saw it was Kyle who had joined him. Kenny couldn’t help his eyes from scanning him over and taking him in briefly and noticing right away that, despite the frightening experience he had gone through the night before, Kyle seemed lighter than air.

“You seem like you’re in a good mood today.” Kenny reacted casually as he took a bite of his homemade sandwich. He hoped satisfying his hunger pangs might ward of the way his mouth watered as he watched Stan take a seat next to Kyle, his lunch tray sizzling with the meal Kenny longed for, but alas it did no such thing.

“Well, yeah actually. I got to talk to Mysterion last night!” Kyle’s face broke into an even wider grin as he began to ramble, almost as if he had been waiting all day for an excuse to talk about his experience. “So I was almost kidnapped by some asshole, but Mysterion swooped in and saved me. It was incredible, you should have seen it. And then he checked on me to make sure I was alright…” There was a sudden pause in Kyle quick speech, almost as if he had to physically stop himself from saying something. “After that he took me straight home. So the whole thing really only lasted a few minutes. But still… Not everyone gets to talk to Mysterion face to race, right?”

Cartman had appeared at their table just in time to hear Kyle’s story and his displeasure was apparent on his face as he rolled his eyes and took the spot next to Kenny, “Mysterion again? Do you ever talk about anything else?”

“Leave him alone, Cartman.” Stan snapped before turning back to Kyle with wide eyes filled with concern. “You almost got kidnapped, dude? Are you okay?”

“Dude, Me almost getting kidnapped isn’t the interesting part of that story.” Kyle laughed softly at his best friend. “But yeah, it was pretty terrifying. I’m alright though, just a little bruised from where he grabbed me.” Kyle winced at the memory of the pain. “But I’m okay, thanks to Mysterion.”

The almost dreamy look in Kyle’s eyes made Kenny smile softly to himself and made Cartman groan over dramatically.

“Jesus. You need a fucking hobby.” Cartman grumbled before taking a monstrous bite of his pulled pork sandwich, causing most of the contents spill onto the plate below him.

Kenny admired the way Stan kept his focus on Kyle the entire time and chose to ignore Cartman’s disrespectful comment. Even though they were all far too use to Cartman and his unpleasant personality, Stan always seemed the least affected by him. Kenny could never tell if Stan was unusually patient or just genuinely unbothered by their abrasive sort of friend. Either way, he was impressed.

Kenny tried his best to be like Stan but he couldn’t stop the eye roll that resulted from the comment. “Glad you’re okay, dude.” Kenny’s eyes fell back to his lunch, trying his best to maintain a demeanor of disinterest even as he listened intently to the conversation happening across the table.

“It’s a good thing he was there.” Stan glanced over his best friend with a careful eye, seeming to look for any physical damage. When he appeared satisfied that Kyle was unhurt, his furrowed brow melted away and a curious look replaced it. “So what was he like up close and personal? Was getting saved by him like how it is in the movies or was it less dramatic than that?”

“He was awesome. He grabbed the guy by the throat and punched him in the face, then he knocked him down. The guy was out in like ten seconds flat. It was kind of like in the movies, minus the sound effects, I guess.” Kyle retold with enthusiasm. “Even if I don’t really want to get almost kidnapped again, it was so cool to see him in action.”

Kenny tried to hide his overly pleased smile behind his sandwich as he listened to Kyle’s story. He had grown so use to his nightly ritual he was completely unfazed by the things he did. Hearing about his acts of heroism from an actual observer was a new and fun experience and quite the ego boost.

“Damn. That’s so awesome. I wish I got to see it.” Stan admitted. “Even though it still freaks me out that you almost got kidnapped.”

“If this is all we’re going to talk about today then I’m getting the fuck out of here.” Cartman grumbled and stood, looking a strange mix of jealous and agitated which only increased when none of his friends made any attempt to stop him. “Screw all of you guys. I don’t know why I hang out with any of you in the first place.”

Cartman turned to leave in practically slow motion, as if he hoped one of them might call him back to the table, but none did. When Cartman was finally out of ear shot, Stan was the first to speak;

“Thank God. I was about to lose my temper with him.”

The comment made Kenny laugh softly to himself, glad to see that Stan did in fact have a boiling point somewhere in that sweet, sensitive soul of his.

“Anyways! Tell us more.” Stan leaned closer to Kyle, anxiously anticipating what else he might say of his adventures with a superhero.

“Well,” Kyle’s attention was pulled down to his plate of practically untouched food, “I think I might be giving up my whole thing to try and figure out who he is. I haven’t been getting anywhere for months, so I think I’ll take a break.”

Kenny glanced up when he heard Kyle speak and he took a subtle breath of relief when he realized that Kyle was staying true to his word about giving up his search. As much as he had wanted to trust Kyle and believe what he had agreed to the night before, it was still nice to get clear confirmation.

“Really? But you seemed so set on it.” Stan raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised by this news. “Bummer. I was kind of hoping you would figure it out so you could tell me.”

“Ha, yeah.” Kyle laughed a little tensely. “You can give it a shot if you want to figure it out, but I don’t know. What if that guy tried to kidnap me because I was trying to figure it out? If Mysterion wasn’t there, I could be in some dude’s basement right now. It might be safer to stop. Maybe I can take down some of the evidence in my room and make space for movie posters or something like that.”

Kenny shuddered at the thought of Kyle being trapped in someone’s basement. The very idea of Kyle being in any sort of danger making him sick enough to not want to finish his meager lunch and he subtly pushed it further away from himself.

“Good. That’s probably for the best.” Kenny finally spoke up. “He’s not worth putting your life on the line for.”

“I had that on the back of my mind a little when you first told me you wanted to find out who Mysterion is.” Stan admitted with a frown. “You could easily become a target if there was anyone out there who desperately wanted to know who he is and knew you had that information. The guy who grabbed you last night might have been doing it for that exact reason.”

“Yeah I know. I hope the guy was arrested, but even so, I’m sure there are more people who want to know who Mysterion is. If I drop it, I’ll be much safer.” Kyle nodded as if he were set on his decision but Kenny noticed a strange look in his eyes that was less convincing. “I’m sure his identity will come out eventually, right? Until then, I guess I can settle for occasionally seeing Mysterion in the news.”

Kenny wanted so badly to tell Kyle that the man who had tried to harm him had in fact been arrested, wanted to help ease his mind, but knew he couldn’t without giving himself away. So instead he nodded along to the story, his eyes flickering back and forth between Kyle and Stan as they conversed.

“Yeah maybe whenever he retires he’ll finally reveal himself.” Stan shrugged. “But even if you never find out who he is, you at least got closer than most, dude, and now you have a really cool story to tell. It’s not everyday people get saved by a super hero.”

“It is pretty cool but I don’t think I’m going to tell many people what happened.” Kyle decided out loud.

“How come?” Kenny finally spoke up, curious about Kyle’s answer.

“Even though I was saved by a superhero and it is a great story, it’s kind of embarrassing to tell people you nearly got kidnapped.”

“Don’t be embarrassed, dude.” Kenny shook his head, causing some of his overgrown blonde hair to fall into his eyes. “It happens all the time. If it didn’t, it would be completely unnecessary to have a superhero around.”

“I guess you’re right but still…” Kyle trailed off slightly. “It sucks that I needed to rely on someone else to save my life, even if that someone’s specialty is saving lives.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it. I’m sure he didn’t mind helping you out.” Kenny spoke truthfully, knowing full well that Mysterion absolutely didn’t mind saving Kyle.

“I hope he didn’t mind. I hate to be just another burden to him.” Kyle sighed and the reaction made Kenny want so badly to tell Kyle how he was anything but a burden to him but when he opened his mouth to accidentally spill those words, he was interrupted by Kyle continuing his thought, “And even though it was so cool to be saved by him, I shouldn’t tell anyone. Some people we know could have connections to those who would want to know Mysterion’s identity. It’s not worth the risk. Jesus, this is a lot of stress. I wonder how Mysterion deals with it.”

“No idea.” Stan snorted. “I can’t even turn my homework in on time. I have no clue how someone could be a superhero on top of everything else they have to do in their everyday life.”

“Yeah I would be so exhausted, but when I asked Mysterion about it he said that he just got used to it. I don’t know how he does it.”

“Did you get to ask him anything else?” Stan inquired.

“No.” Kyle sputtered out. “That was all we had time to talk about before he sent me home. Which is understandable, he’s a busy guy. Hopefully I’ll come across him again soon.” Kyle sighed almost dreamily and the reaction caused a mischievous smile to grow on Stan’s face;

“If you run into him again you should tell him you basically worship the ground he walks on.”

Kyle’s face flushed a deep red at Stan’s words, “No way! Dude, he’d probably avoid me if he found out. I’m not risking not ever being able to talk to him again by telling him about that.”

“He’d probably be flattered.” Stan nudged his best friend playfully. “He’d probably love knowing you have a little crush on him.”

Kenny had been laughing softly to himself at the flustered look on Kyle’s face but the laughter stopped abruptly when he heard Stan’s words. He was completely thrown off and utterly surprised and he was blurting out the question before he could think it over first, “Do you really have a crush on Mysterion?”

“Well yeah.” Kyle admitted sheepishly, the bright red color still painting his cheeks. “I know it’s stupid because I don’t even know what he actually looks like or if he’s already taken… But I do.” Kyle looked over at Kenny with just his eyes and the action made Kenny lose his breath for a split second. “I guess part of it is just curiosity over who he really is, but if he came up and kissed me, I definitely wouldn’t stop him.”

Kyle continued to hold Kenny’s gaze for an extended moment and Kenny wasn’t sure why he was so pleased about that and about the confession. He decided to chalk it up to being flattered like Stan said Mysterion might be. It was the only thing that made sense to him at least.

Kenny forced himself to break the eye contact first and drew his attention back to the table and picked at the remainders of his lunch before deciding he no longer wanted any of it. He did laugh softly to himself then, realizing that if Kyle knew who Mysterion _actually_ was, and that he had been sitting across from him at their lunch table for over a decade, he would lose those feelings ridiculously fast.

“If any of you come across him…” Kyle suddenly added with a warning tone, “You better not tell him I have a crush. He might get creeped out about it and let me get kidnapped if he found out.”

“He’s not going to let you get kidnapped, dude.” Stan laughed. “If Mysterion ever saves me though, I’m totally going to try and set you two up.”

Kenny burst into audible laughter then, unable to stop himself from finding it amusing that neither realized what they were saying directly in front of the person they were talking about and how awkward they would feel if they knew.

“How would you even set me and Mysterion up if you don’t know his real identity? Seems like a hell of a challenge.” Kyle shook his head at Stan and pointed a warning finger at Kenny, “And you! Stop laughing!”

“I haven’t thought that far ahead yet. But I’ll figure it out.” Stan nodded thoughtfully as he finished up the last of his lunch.

“Well if you do try to set us up, just don’t tell him about my feelings for him at least until I know he reciprocates. It would just make things awkward otherwise.” Kyle shot another glare over at Kenny.

Kenny waited until the final bit of laughter fell from his lips and he put his hands up in mock surrender, “I’m not laughing for the reasons you think, trust me.”

“Then why are you laughing?”

Kenny wracked his brain quickly to come up with a justifiable excuse for his uncontrollable laughter and spoke the first thought that came to mind, “What if Mysterion turns out to be Butters? Or Scott Malkinson? And all this time you had a crush on one of them? It’s just funny to think about.”

“Dude, Butters is a pussy. There’s no way he’s Mysterion. Plus, he’s too short.” Kyle pointed out. “And wouldn’t Scott Malkinson’s diabetes make running around all night fighting crime without food an issue? But I guess I would rather it be Scott Malkinson than Butters if I had to choose.”

“Plus Butters and Mysterion have been in the same place at the same time before so it can’t be him.” Stan offered, which Kyle nodded slowly in return, looking as if he were making a mental note of that new information.

“I’m just saying you might not be thrilled with who’s behind the mask so I guess it’s a good thing you’re over trying to find out.” Kenny shrugged as nonchalantly as he could manage.

“I don’t know. I think that I’d like whoever it was, to be honest. I could see myself crushing on most of the guys I didn’t rule out in my investigation.” Kyle admitted.

“Yeah?” Kenny hesitated. He didn’t want to push this conversation so soon after he had managed to convince Kyle to drop his search, but his curiosity was getting the better of him. “Who haven’t you ruled out?”

“I thought about ruling out Clyde, Scott, and Tweek, but I didn’t officially rule them out yet because I would want more evidence. The three people who I don’t think I could see myself crushing on would be Bradley, Kevin, and Jason, who I also haven’t ruled out yet. You and Stan are the last two people who I haven’t ruled out.” Kyle explained, “So, eight people in total. Unless I’m forgetting someone.”

Kenny felt a burst of panic in his chest as he listened to Kyle list off the names. Only realizing then how few people had been narrowed down on his list of potentials. “Interesting.” He mumbled stiffly, managing to keep his composure even on the outside despite freaking out on the inside.

“You haven’t ruled me out yet? Fuck yeah, dude.” Stan beamed. “Good to know you think I could be a superhero.”

Kyle grinned and nodded in response, “Yeah, I haven’t ruled you out yet. You are one of the least likely people, though, because I’m pretty sure we’ve had sleepovers on nights during which Mysterion was out stopping crime. But I guess my memory could be failing me, or you could have snuck out while I was sleeping. So I’m waiting for actual evidence to rule you out.” Kyle quickly added, “Not that I’m going to be putting any more effort into figuring it out anymore. But if Mysterion happens to do something that really obviously reveals his identity to me, I certainly won’t complain.”

“Imagine me a hero.” Stan flexed and struck a dramatic hero pose which caused Kyle to laugh and Kenny to smile despite his deep seated concerns brewing in his gut. “I kind of like it.”

“I’m sure you’d make a great superhero, even if I don’t particularly think you’re Mysterion.” Kyle nudged Stan with a grin still splattered across his face. “I’m almost tempted to get myself into trouble so he can come save me again, but I know he’s busy so I wouldn’t want to take time away from people who are actually in danger.”

“I think that would be kind of romantic. Him saving you again and you telling him how you feel. It really would be like the movies if it happened that way.” Stan smiled as he finally stood from the table with his tray in hand.

“Don’t go looking for trouble, dude.” Kenny said quickly. “What if… Mysterion can’t get to you in time and something really bad happens to you?”

“I can’t just tell Mysterion how I feel as soon as he saves me. He would probably drop me in shock.” Kyle snorted before glancing over at Kenny. “You don’t have to be so worried about me, dude. But yeah I won’t go looking for trouble. I would just be a little less upset than normal if I happened to get in trouble and he happened to be there.”

“Maybe he likes you back. You don’t know.” Stan shrugged. “I’ll see you guys later.” Stan called over his shoulder as he turned to drop his tray off before heading to class.

Kenny waited until Stan was gone before he gathered up his own trash in his hands and stood, “Seriously though, Kyle.” Kenny said with a more serious tone than he had ever used before with his friends. “Be safe, okay? Don’t go looking for trouble.”

“Why are you so concerned? That’s usually Stan’s job to be overly worried about me.” Kyle grinned and punched Kenny’s shoulder as he started walking away. “I’ll be fine, Kenny. You can relax.”

Kenny kept his eyes firmly on Kyle as he exited the cafeteria. Keeping his attention locked on him as if someone might jump out and attack him if he let his focus fall away for even a second. As he watched him finally disappear behind the door Kenny couldn’t help but smile to himself as the memory of Kyle confessing his little crush on Mysterion came back to mind. The thought of it making his chest feel warm and his heart beat just a little faster.

But he was sure it was only because he was flattered by it.


End file.
